All Roads Lead to Hope...Farmington Strong...November 2019

On the evening of September 16th, I was watching the ABC Nightly News, when a story came on about a propane explosion that leveled a building, destroyed 11 homes, and sent 6 firefighters and one maintenance worker to the hospital with severe injuries. It had also reported that one firefighter had been killed. They showed photos and video from a place called Farmington, Maine, and it looked like a bomb had gone off... and I am sure at that  moment, most of America felt horrified about the devastation that had occurred in that small community somewhere in rural Maine.

(photos from the news sources online)

Then David Muir went on to another story, and much of America was on to that next story with him.  But I couldn't stop thinking about that small community of Farmington, Maine. 

My stepdad was a firefighter in Stratford, the town where I was raised. As a kid, I spent time in the firehouse and knew a lot of the firemen. It was a place I knew I could go and always feel safe and always be welcome. The firemen and their families came to our house, sometimes we went to theirs. There were picnics,  holiday parties,  dinners, and there were even vacations together... there was always fun to be had. 

My stepdad was only a firefighter for 14 years, as he was injured on the job and had to retire due to that job related injury, but his connection with the fire department and those men never ended, even when his job did. That's the thing about the fire department and men and women who work there, it's not a job, it's a family. 

My stepdad continued his relationship with the fire department and those men and women there right up until the day he died. He would always drop down to the station to visit. In his final years, you could find him riding his electric wheelchair down Main Street over to the Fire Department to chat with "the guys". If he fell out of his chair or off the bed and needed an assist lift to get back up, he would think nothing of calling them.  And when the call was done, if they didn't have another call, they would stick around and chat. When he passed away last September, they lined the fire trucks up in the parking lot and attended his Celebration of Life to pay their respects...because they were his family. 

So when I heard about what was happening to his family in Maine, I knew I had to do something.  I got on our Facebook page and explained what had happened in Farmington, Maine. I put the call out for volunteers to meet me at Sterling House to paint hearts for those fire fighters. Well, it's kind of like the movie Field of Dreams here in Stratford, "If you call them, they will come".  

Volunteer painters showed up that day to paint, and then several other people and groups contacted me about having small painting parties for Farmington. We had school children who wanted to paint.

We had Girl Scouts who wanted to paint. 

The women I meet with every Tuesday for ceramics, stopped whatever project they were working on, and for 4 weeks straight, focused only on Hearts for Farmington, and they even took a few home to work on during the week. 

As luck would have it, Patti Ptak, Newtown's Chapter President, has a friend named Crystal Guerrette who lives in Maine, who knows someone who lives in the Farmington area that was involved with the fire department. Crystal gave Patti that information, and the next thing you know...we were going to Farmington!  Now thank goodness, Patti did all the phone calling and made the contact and the connection. She offered to let me do it, but ummm, those of you who know me know I am great with kids, but when it comes to anyone over 11  years old... let's just say I was happy to let Patti make the call. 

Patti did an amazing job making all the arrangements with an equally amazing gentleman named Gerry Pineau. This, what I thought would be a small delivery of hearts to a fire department, turned into a delivery of over 300 hearts to an entire community, and we couldn't be happier with the way it all turned out! We would be delivering hearts to not only the firefighters, but also to the police department, dispatchers, emergency department, ambulance service, LEAP employees, and community members affected by the explosion. 

It is a five and a half hour drive to Farmington, Maine if you don't stop or get caught in traffic. It was agreed that we would head up on Saturday, so we could take our time getting there, and when we arrived we could get the lay of the land. We would stay overnight, and be bright eyed and bushy tailed for Sunday, the day of the actual event. Patti picked up Janet and Erica and then came for me. As you can see, packing the car  with all the hearts, supplies, and our overnight bags was quite a feat, but somehow Patti and Erica made it all work. 

Now, as long as we don't have to stop quickly, everything should be just fine. We actually had to put a few things in the back seat with Janet and Erica. They never complained about being squished on our 6 hour ride to Farmington.  Not sure I would have been such a good sport. 

This heart was painted by one of Newtown's regulars, a talented 14 year old. She researched the roads leading into Farmington and painted this. This heart will be going to Larry Lord, the maintenance worker from LEAP, who is still in Mass General in Boston. He is the hero who smelled the propane,  helped get almost a dozen people get out of the building to safety before he called the fire department to report the smell of propane. The building exploded just minutes later.

And we are off!

We were very happy we weren't in that traffic jam. It went on for miles!

I guess I spoke too soon. At least ours was short and we had something cute to look at. 

When we arrived in Farmington, we decided to head to the fire house before checking into the hotel. We were just planning on seeing where it was located and taking a few outdoor photos... 

 ...but we were welcomed in by Firefighter Stewart.  We told him who we were and why we dropped by a day early. He told us to feel free to look around. When he learned Erica was also a firefighter, he told her to feel free to open doors and look inside any vehicle she liked. Basically, we were told to make ourselves at home. Patti and Firefighter Stewart chatted while the rest of us roamed around.  Everywhere I looked around the house, I saw reminders that demonstrate how much these firefighters mean to this community. 

This flag made of retired fire hoses was a gift, as well as the items in the following photos. 

Patches sent by other departments lending their support.  

 As you can see, they were ready for our arrival. Firefighters know how to throw a party!

Scott Baxter had just been released from the hospital this week. Baxter was the last of the injured firefighters to return home to Farmington. His return home coincides with the return of the fire department to full 24 hour coverage by Farmington firefighters.

We left the fire house and went to check in to our hotel. 

While making plans for dinner, we discovered that Gerry, our amazing contact and event organizer, was not going to be able to attend tomorrow's event because he had to work at his regular job. Gerry had used up all of his vacation time working at the Farmington Fire Station, along with many other fire fighters from other towns, until Farmington was ready and able to fully staff their house again. Because of that, he had no more time left to take off for our event, but we did find out that he was going to be at the Farmington Fire House that night at 7 pm, so we called him and told him we would be dropping by after dinner so we could meet him and thank him in person for all he had done to make tomorrow possible. 

Downtown Farmington is so beautiful at night.

 I love old towns with underground power and wide streets.

Our waitress, Heidi, at the 

Homestead Restaurant. I highly

recommend it if you are in town. 

So after dinner, we went back to the fire house and finally met with Gerry Pineau face to face.  We talked with Gerry, he gave us a lot of background about Farmington and his connection to the town and the fire department. He told us that the fire house is the center of the community, and Chief Bell has an open door policy. When the weather is good, you will find the fire trucks parked outside and the doors open so people can just walk in and say hello. We learned a lot about exactly what this town has been through and how they have rallied around each other to help each other out. How because LEAP's building was completely destroyed, the owner of another building offered them a place to work out of free of charge until they could figure things out. The eleven families whose homes were destroyed had to be relocated, some homes needed to be rebuilt and some homes that were damaged needed to be fixed, and volunteers showed up to help.  Clothing, household items, and food were donated to those who needed them. Small towns rally around their own. Help came from outside, too, and that can be fulfilling and overwhelming at the same time.

 Firefighter Wilcox 

 Since Gerry wasn't going to be there tomorrow, we presented him with a Heart of Hope to thank him for all he has done to support Farmington and to help make this event possible. 

A bowl of Halloween candy left over from Thursday night.

Sunday, November 3, 2019... Event Day!

We arrived at 10 a.m. to find the trucks already outside on the blacktop. 

 Time to start setting up. 

 American Legion Post #28 and the Ladies Auxiliary are hosting today luncheon. They have been hosting the Sunday community suppers at the fire station since September. The suppers will continue through the end of the year. 

Thank goodness there is no coverage of our speeches to the crowd.  I started off by telling them who we were, why we were there, a little about these particular hearts, and my personal reasons and connections that I mentioned in the beginning of the blog. Patti was up next, introducing them to the beginnings of Hearts of Hope and thanking them for allowing us to come and present them with these hearts.  Erica spoke next about her personal connection of being a firefighter who went through the tragedy of Sandy Hook, and understanding how difficult is it to find your way through it to your "new normal".  She presented the chief with a heart  she painted in memory of his brother who had perished in the fire. Many tears were shed as Chief Terry got up from his chair to accept the heart and hugged Erica.  I did not take any photos of this as he is still recovering from his injuries and I did not feel it was my place to run up to him then or later and ask him to pose for a photo. The same can be said of the other 4 firefighters who still had visible scars. We talked with them, but when it came to photos, we tried to give them their privacy. 

The American Legion Post #28 serving lunch.

The Ladies Auxiliary hosting the dessert table.

Some of the employees from LEAP.

This heart is going to be given to Captain Bell's family. 

The luncheon was all over, the crowds had left, and the clean up was all done. We packed our car, but we stayed a while longer. It was hard to leave these firefighters we had known for such a short time, but felt so bonded with. 

Once we left the fire house, still we had a few stops to make to drop off a few baskets of hearts to some departments who were unable to attend the luncheon. First stop, the Police Department.

Next stop, to see the 9-1-1 Dispatchers. 

And our final stop, the Emergency Department. 

We had given a box of hearts to the person in charge of the North Star Ambulance Service back at the fire station, but I couldn't help but leave one on the open door of the ambulance before we left the parking lot. 

After we left the Emergency Department, it was finally time to head home to Connecticut. 

I have gained so much by coming to Farmington, Maine. I return home feeling more blessed than when I began my journey. 

Lessons Learned: Your community is those who surround you who care about  you. It can be as small as your neighborhood or as large as the entire country. It all depends on who you let in during those times of crisis and disaster. And it can be hard to let outsiders in, but the people of Farmington, especially the firefighters of Farmington, are lead by the example of their chief, Terry Bell, who long before this nightmare began, held the policy, "Our house is always open". We were told stories of how he would have the front doors of the fire station open and the trucks on the outside pad so people could always wander in and stay for a visit. And after the explosion, that didn't change. Before the explosion there had been Sunday dinners at the fire house for their community with the help of other community groups like the American Legion. These dinners are still going on and will continue. 

Thank you Farmington, for welcoming us into your community. Thank you for welcoming us into your house with open arms. We are now forever family. If you ever need us, we are only a phone call away.

Thank you, for showing us what it means to be Farmington Strong!